Loom



Feb. 14, 1939. J. B. PERRY 2,147,602

LOOM

Filed Sept. 8, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTUR. flee 21? BPe/vy Mm A TTORNEYS.

Feb. 14, 1939. J. B. PERRY I 2,147,602

LOOM

Filed Sept. 8, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Jase 0% 19. @e/vy fl /hm ATTORNEYS. I

Patented Feb. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOOM Application September 8, 1938, Serial No. 228,943

18 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in looms, and in particular to filling tension means for such apparatus; and has for one of its 'objects the holding of the filling threads without v slack directly after they have been laid in the fabric by the shuttle and before the shuttle has completed its flight and come to rest at the end of each flight.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for holding and tensioning the filling threads so as to prevent the same from kinking or becoming slack as they are laid in the fabric by the shuttle in passing through the shed during the weaving operation, whereby the filling thread will be held under tension in the fabric irrespective of any slack resulting in the thread by the slight rebound of the shuttle from the shuttle box when brought to rest therein at the end of each flight.

Another object of the invention is the provision of such holding and tensioning of the filling threads by a simple attachment to fabric looms of a usual and conventional form.

Another object of the invention is to provide filling holding and tensioning means which will be quickly thrown into a position for engagement with the filling thread to hold and tensionsaid thread immediately after passage of the shuttle across the tensioning means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a filling holding and tensioning device carried by the front portion of the lay adapted to be reciprocated therewith and oscillated thereby to engage and clamp the filling thread against the lay and to be operated independently of the usual mechanism for oscillating the lay.

Another object of the invention is to provide a filling holding device in the form of an attachment which will clamp the filling thread against the lay at a point immediately in back of the trailing end of the shuttle after passage of the latter across the holding device.

Another object of the invention is toprovide filling holding and tension means which will be quickly movable toward the lay into clamping position with the filling thread and also will be capable of movement in the path. of travel of the filling thread in order to stretch and tension the held thread. Y

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient device of this character which may be readily applied to the lay of a loom without requiring the reed to be cut out for positioning of the filling engaging finger in its working position relative to the lay.

fragmental portion of a loom showing my invention applied thereto in operative position;

Fig. 2 is a fragmental front elevation of the lay shown in Fig. 1 showing the pivotal arrangement of the filling holding device and a part of the actuating mechanism therefor;

Fig. 3 is a fragmental elevational view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2 and as viewed from the under side thereof;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

It is desirable in looms to provide means for preventing the filling threads from kinking or becoming slack in the fabric after they have been laid therein by passage of the shuttle through the sheds and before the shuttle has been brought to rest at the end of each flight during the weaving operation. This condition is found to result from the slight rebound of the swiftly moving shuttle from the shuttle box upon impact with the end thereof in bringing the shuttle to rest preliminary to starting its next flight in the opposite direction, thus causing the filling in the fabric to become slack and kinked; and in order to overcome these difficulties I have provided means on the lay disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread for engaging the same immediately after it has been laid across such means by the shuttle in passing over the lay during the Weaving operation, and adapted to engage and clamp the filling against the lay before the shuttle is brought to rest in the shuttle box upon completion of each flight; and in order to effect these desirable results I have provided a filling holding and tensioning device which is movably carried by the lay and attached to its front portion, and this filling holding device comprises a lever pivotally mounted for rocking movement relative to the lay having a finger extending laterally of the top surface of the lay and disposedacross the path of travel of the filling thread for clampingly engaging the filling thread immediately after it is laid in the shed to press said thread against the lay, in which the lever is rocked through the movements of the lay and controlled in its operation by mechanism separate from that employed to oscillate the lay in order that the finger will be raised out of the path of flight of the shuttle during passage of the same through the shed. Furthermore, I have provided a spring for rocking said lever to press the finger against the filling; and I have provided a cam mechanism for controlling the clamping action of the finger by said spring consisting of a rock shaft on the lay mechanically connected to the finger lever and having a downwardly extending arm carrying a roller, and means including a nonrotatable cam shiftable into and out of the path of said arm for intermittently engaging the roller whereby it will roll over the periphery of the cam during the rearward movement of the lay to lift the finger out of the paths of the shuttle and the filling thread; and I have also provided a second cam mechanism for controlling the shifting of the non-rotatable cam laterally of the path of said roller in timed relation to the movements of the lay for causing abrupt dropping of the finger upon the filling when the lay begins its forward swing from its rearward position after the shuttle has crossed the lay, and the arrangement of the cam of this second cam mechanism is such that it will permit movement of the cam and its roller in the opposite direction back to their original position without causing breakage of the associated parts; and the following is a more de tailed description of the present embodiment of this invention, illustrating the preferred means by which these advantageous results may be accomplished:

With reference to the drawings, the loom to which my invention has been applied comprises the usual side frames of which I designates a portion of the right hand frame-side with the usual breast beam ll extending therefrom across the frame and connected to the opposite frameside, not shown, there being other suitable connecting members between the side frames for forming a rigid structure. The loom has the usual lay l2 which is pivotally mounted on suitable bearings, not shown, for swinging movement thereon toward and from the breast beam II by the action of the revolving crank shaft l4 through the connecting link l5 and operated in the usual manner by mechanism not shown. The lay 12 carries the usual reed l6, and the warp threads I! are separated by the intermittent rising and falling motion of the usual harness, not shown, to form the sheds through which the shuttle I8 passes when the lay I2 is drawn back to its rearward position by the link l5, as represented in Fig. 1, during the rotation of the crank shaft l4, which construction and operation comprise standard features of an ordinary cloth loom and are old and well known to those skilled in the ar In order that the filling thread may be pulled tight and held without slack after it has been laid by the shuttle in passing through the sheds but before the shuttle comes to rest in the shuttle box, I have provided a filling holding and tensioning mechanism which is of a compact form capable of attachment as a unit to a cloth loom of a usual and conventional form, to be applied thereto near the respective ends of the lay.

In the preferred construction illustratedin Figs. 2 and 3, this mechanism comprises a support 22 adapted to be carried by the lay having the lever 23, which is pivoted intermediate its ends upon the stud 24 fixed by suitable screw threads 25 to a boss 25, and provided with two rigid arms 2'5 and 23 respectively of unequal length, the arm 2'5 being the longer of these arms and having loosely mounted adjacent its free end portion a perforated block 29 carrying a rigid finger 39 adapted to extend across the path of travel of the filling thread 20 so as to press the same against the top surface of the fiat straight arm 3! which also extends across the path of the filling thread and laterally of the lay and is secured at one end to the upper portion of the slide plate The support 22 may be of any desired shape, but as illustrated, it comprises a rectangular metal plate of slightly narrower width than the lay and is suitably attached to the front thereof in any desired manner, as by means of wood screws 33. The

slide plate 32 is loosely mounted on the support 22 near its top edge and is arranged for longitudinal sliding movement relative thereto upon studs 34 secured in the support plate 22 and passing through suitable slots 35 formed at the opposite ends of the slide plate 32. The block 29 is slidably arranged for movement longitudinally on the arm 21 toward and from its free end, as will be hereinafter described. A spring 3? is arranged between the pin 38 on the block 23 and the pin 39 on the lever arm 2'! to normally hold the block 29 in its rearward position against a stop all on the arm 21 when the latter is elevated to raise the finger 30 out of the path of the shuttle when the lay is swung to a position to permit the filling to be laid, as shown in Fig. 1.

Depending from the support 22 is a lever ii, pivoted intermediate of its ends on the pin 42 fixed in the support 22 to form the two oppositely extending arms 43 and 44 respectively, the upper arm 43 of these arms being forked as at 45 for pivotal connection with the pin 46 fixed in the slide plate 32 whereby, when the filling 20 is gripped between the finger 30 and the arm 3!, these parts will be caused to slide in unison to tension the held filling as the slide plate 35 is pushed along the studs 34 longitudinally of the lay toward the proximate end thereof through the rocking move ment of the lever 4| caused by cam action of the downwardly extending arm 4 in striking the inclined abutment member 47 suitably fixed to the breast beam II or to the frame of the loom. A coiled spring 48 attached at one end to the pin 49 fixed in the support 22 and with the other end hooked through a suitable opening in the lever 4| acts on this lever to move it in the opposite direction to restore the slide plate 32 to its former position when the finger 38 is raised. A stop 58 fixed in the support 22 serves to prevent the lever 4| from being pulled beyond its initial position during its return movement by the action of spring 48.

In order to rock the lever 23 about its pivot 24 for disengaging and retracting the finger 30 from the filling 20 during rearward movement of the lay, I have provided a rock shaft fulcrumed in suitable bearing members 56, 51 and 58 respectively which depend from the bottom of the plate 59 carried on the back of the lay for oscillatory movement of the rock shaft. The rock shaft 55 is provided at its respective ends with the oppositely extending lever arms 60 and BI respectively, the arm 60 of which has its free end connected to the arm 28 of the lever 23 by means of the link 62. The arm 28 has a bifurcated construction to provide a yoke 63 for receiving the link 62 which is twisted 90 about its longitudinal axis to obtain, the desired connection. A series of holes 64 formed in: the/arms of the yoke 63 enables the pivot for the link 62 to be adjusted to desired positions for varying the leveragev ratio with respect to the finger 30. The lever arm 6! at the other end of the rock shaft 55 carries on its free end a cam roller 65 which is rotatable on, the pin 66 fixed in'the arm 6 I. When the lay is drawn backward from the breast beam after beating up the filling, the, roller 65 engages and rides over a cam 68 disposed in its path thus imparting a rocking movement to the rock shaft 55 to swing up the lever 23 and raise the finger 30 away from the top surface of the lay against the action of the coiled spring 10. During laying of the filling threads the lever 23 is normally held with the finger 30 raised above the top of the lay out of the path of travel of the shuttle. The spring 10, which is. mounted on the rock shaft 55, has one end secured to a collar H on the rock shaft while the other end of the spring has bearing against the plate 59 for rocking the rock shaft 55 and the lever 23 so as to snap down the finger 30 and hold it pressed against the filling and the arm 3|.

Since it is desired that the filling thread be clamped only after the shuttle has passed through the shed but before it has completed its flight and to present no obstruction to its passage over the lay during laying of the filling in the cloth, the cam 68 is arranged so as to be interposed in the path of travel of the cam roller 65 only during the rearward movement of the lay, and to obtain this result the cam 68 is mounted at one end of a lever 15 which ispivoted at the other end on a pin 16 mounted on the bracket 11 fixed to the frame of the loom. For the purpose of rocking the lever 15 for shifting the cam 68 laterally of the cam roller 65 I have provided a connecting rod 18 one end of which is pivoted by the pin 19 to a bracket 89 carried by the lever I5. The other end of the connecting rod carries a bracket 8| having screw thread connection with a bolt 82 to which is attached a stirrup 83. A lever 85 is pivoted at one end to the frame of the loom as at 86 and carries a roller 81 at an intermediate portion to contact with the periphery of a cam 90, the free end of the lever 85 having a pivotal connection with the stirrup 83 by means of the pin 9|. A pin 92 fixed in the bracket 93, which is suitably mounted on the frame of the loom, serves to limit the extent of outward swing of the lever 15 when the cam 68 is withdrawn and shifted sidewise from the path of the cam roller 65 by the sudden dropping of the connecting rod 18 by gravity.

Conversely, the cam 68 will be shifted laterally to be positioned in the path of travel of the cam roller 65 for engagement therewith when the connecting rod 18 is lifted upon engagement of the pin 9| with the upper end of the stirrup 83 when the lever 85 is lifted by the action of the cam 90. The cam 68 remains in the path of the cam roller 65 as the lay is drawn rearwardly after its beat-up movement in the course of which motion the cam roller 65 will roll along the top surface of the cam 68 rearwardly thereof to press the arm 6| upwardly and through lever arm 69, link 62, lever 23, force the finger 30 away from clamping engagement with the filling to raise the finger against the action of the spring '19.

The action of the cam 9D.is so timed that the roller 81 after rolling along the cam surface 9! will drop ofi the edge 92 onto the surface 93,

when the crank I 4' comes by "dead center, to throw the lever 15 outwardly and shift the cam 68 carried thereby out of the path of travel of the cam roller 65 and thereby snap down the finger 30 quickly upon the filling. The cam may bedriven from any suitable source of power, preferably by a separate shaft from the crank M.

In Fig. 5, is shown the hollow structure of the cam 99? wherein there is provided the annular recess 95 which permits this cam to be turned in the opposite direction without damage to the mechanism after the roller 81 has dropped to the outer surface 93, and closing one end of this recess or-chamber is a yieldable plate 96 pivoted as at9'l and normally held in an oblique position by a spring 98 to form a ramp upon which the cam roller 81 rolls in being transported from the surface 93 back to the cam surface 9| during the normal rotation of the cam. When the cam is turned in its reverse direction, the roller 81, however, will roll along the top wall 99 of the recess 95 and to lift the plate 96 upon striking the same so as to permit the roller to pass by the plate back onto the surface 93.

The foregoing description is directed solely towards the construction illustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the device is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a loom, the combination of a lay, means carried by said lay and oscillatable relative thereto, a finger adapted for oscillation relative to the lay by said oscillatable means and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread, means normally tending to urge said finger towards said lay so as to engage and press the filling against the lay during its beating-up movement, and means laterallyshiftable into the path of reciprocation of said oscillatable means for engaging the same during the return movement of the lay in the opposite direction so as to lift said finger and hold the same in a raised position from said lay and retracted from the path of said filling for permitting passage of the shuttle through the sheds to lay the filling threads in the cloth.

2. In a loom, the combination of a lay, means carried by said. lay and oscillatable relative thereto, a finger adapted for oscillation relative to the lay by said oscillatable means and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread, a spring normally tending to urge said finger towards said lay so as to engage and press the filling against the lay during its movement in a forwardly direction, and means laterally shiftable into the path of reciprocation of said oscillatable means for engaging the same during movement of the lay in its rearward direction so as to lift said finger and hold the same in a raised position from said lay and retracted from the path of said filling against the action of said spring for permitting passage of the shuttle through the sheds to lay the filling threads in the cloth.

3. In a loom, the combination of a lay, levers carried by said lay adapted for oscillation relatively thereto, a finger on one of said levers disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread, resilient means normally tending to urge said finger towards said lay so as to engage and press the filling against the lay during its beating-up movement, and means laterally shiftable into the path of reciprocation of another of said levers for engaging the same during the-return movement of the lay in the opposite direction so as to lift said finger and hold the same in a raised position from said lay and retracted from the path of said filling for permitting passage of the shuttle through the sheds to lay the filling threads in the cloth.

4. In a loom, the combination of a lay, levers carried by said lay adapted for oscillation relatively thereto, a finger on one of said levers disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread, a spring normally tending to urge said finger towards said lay so as to engage and press the filling against the lay during its movement in a forwardly direction, and means shiftable into the path of reciprocation of another of said levers for engaging the same during movement of the lay in its rearward direction so as to lift said finger and hold the same in a raised position from said lay and retracted from the path of said filling against the action of said spring for permitting passage of the shuttle through the sheds to lay the filling threads in the cloth.

5. In a loom, the combination of a lay, levers carried by the lay adapted for oscillation relatively thereto, a finger on one of said levers and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread for movement relative to the lay, said finger adapted to be normally held in a raised position from the top of the lay as the filling thread is laid in the shed and movable toward said lay after said thread has been laid for engaging and pressing the filling thread against the lay, means effective immediately after the filling thread has been laid across said finger but before the shuttle has come to rest at the end of its flight for actuating said lever so as to throw said finger quickly into engagement with the filling thread to press the same against the lay and hold said thread under tension in the cloth during the subsequent beat-up movement of the lay, and means independent of the lay shiftable into and out of the path of one of said levers for engaging the same during rearward movement of the lay so as to retract and hold said finger out of the path of the filling to permit passage of the shuttle over the lay to deposit the filling in the cloth. a

6. In a loom, the combination of a lay, levers carried by said lay adapted for oscillation relatively thereto, a finger resiliently mounted on one of said levers and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread for movement relative to the lay, a member slidably mounted on said lay and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread, means normally tending to urge said finger towards said lay so as to engage and press the filling against said slidable member, and means in the path of reciprocation of one of said levers for engaging the same at a predetermined position of the lay during its swinging movement so as to cause movement of said member and said finger in unison to tension the filling while holding the same firmly gripped therebetween.

'7. In a loom, the combination of a lay, levers carried by said lay adapted for oscillation relatively thereto, a finger resiliently mounted on one of said levers and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread for movement relative to the lay, said finger being slidable longitudinally of said lever, a member slidably mounted on said lay adapted to be reciprocated longitudinally thereof toward one of its ends and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread, means normally tending to urge said finger towards said lay so as to engage and press the filling against said slidable member, and means in the path of reciprocation of one of said levers for engaging the same at a predetermined position of the lay during its swinging movement so as to cause sliding movement of said member and said finger in unison to tension the filling while holding the same firmly gripped therebetween.

8. In a loom, the combination of a lay, levers carried by said lay adapted for oscillation relatively thereto, a finger resiliently mounted on one of said levers and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread for movement relative to the lay, a member slidably mounted on said lay and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread, a spring normally tending to swing said finger carrying lever in a direction to move said finger towards said lay so as to engage and press the filling against said slidable member, and means in the path of reciprocation of one of said levers for engaging the same at a predetermined position of the lay during its swinging movement so as to cause movement of said member and said finger in unison to tension the filling while holding the same firmly gripped therebetween.

9. In a loom, the combination of a lay, levers carried by said lay adapted for oscillation relatively thereto, a finger resiliently mounted on one of said levers and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread for movement relative to the lay, a member slidably mounted on said lay and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread, means normally tending to urge said finger towards said lay so as to engage and press the filling against said slidable member, and a stationary arm disposed in the path of reciprocation of one of said levers for engaging the same at a predetermined position of the lay during its forward swinging movement in beating up the filling so as to cause movement of said member and said finger in unison to tension the filling while holding the same firmly gripped therebetween.

10. In a loom, the combination of a lay, levers carried by said lay adapted for oscillation relatively thereto, a finger slidably mounted on one of said levers and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread for movement relative to the lay, a member on said lay slidable relative thereto and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread, a spring normally tending to urge said finger towards the lay so as to engage and press the filling against said slidable member, an element disposed in the path of reciprocation of one of said levers for engaging the same at a predetermined position of the lay during its swinging movement so as to cause sliding movement longitudinally of the lay of said finger and said member in unison to tension the filling thread held therebetween, and means independent of the lay shiftable into the path of one of said levers for engaging the same during rearward movement of the lay so as to retract and hold said finger against the action of said spring out or" the path of the filling to permit laying oi the same, said means adapted to be shifted out of the line of movement of said lever immediately when the lay starts its forward movement to beat up the filling whereby said finger is released and abruptly thrown into. clampingengagement with the filling to press the same against said slidable member.

11. In a loom, the combination of a lay, levers carried by said lay adapted for oscillation rela-. tively thereto, a finger slidably mounted on one of said'levers and disposed across the path of. travel of the filling thread for movement relative to thelay, a member on said lay slidable relative thereto and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread, a spring normally tending to urge said finger towards the lay so as to engageand press the filling against said slidable member, an element disposed in the path of reciprocation of one of said levers for engaging the same at a predetermined position of the lay during its swinging movement so as to cause sliding movement longitudinally of the lay of said finger and said member in unison to tension the: filling thread held therebetween, and means independent of the lay including a cam shiftable longitudinally of the lay into the path of one of said levers for engaging the same during rearward movement of the lay so as to retract and hold said finger against the action of said spring out of the path of the filling to permit laying of the same, said cam adapted to be shifted out of the line of movement of said lever immediately when the lay starts its forward movement to beat up the filling wherebysaid finger is released and abruptly thrown into clamping engagement with the filling to press the same against said slidable member.

12. In a loom, the combination of a lay, levers carried by said lay adapted for oscillation relatively thereto, a finger slidably mounted on one of said levers and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread for movement relative to the lay, a member on said lay slidable relative thereto and disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread, a spring normally tending to urge said finger towards the lay so as to engage and press the filling against said slidable member, an element disposed in the path of reciprocation of one of said levers for engaging the same at a predetermined position of the lay during its swinging movement so as to cause sliding movement longitudinally of the lay of said finger and said member in unison to tension the filling thread held therebetween, and means independent of the lay including a cam shiftable longitudinally of the lay into the path of one of said levers for engaging the same during rearward movement of the lay so as to retract and hold said finger against the action of said spring out of the path of the filling to permit laying of the same, said cam adapted to be shifted out of the line of movement of said lever immediately when the lay starts its forward movement to beat up the filling whereby said finger is released and abruptly thrown into clamping engagement with the filling to press the same against said slidable member, and a cam actuated mechanism for shifting said cam into and out of operating engagement with said lever.

13. In a loom, the combination with the frame and the lay, of a support carried by said lay at opposite end portions thereof, a lever pivotally mounted on said support having a finger disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread, said finger adapted to press said thread against the lay upon movement of said lever in one direction and to be retracted from said lay and the path of the filling when the lever is moved in the opposite direction, bearing memhere on said lay, a rock shaft fulcrumed on said bearing members, said rock shaft being mechanically connected to said lever for actuating the same and having an arm extending rearwardly of the lay, means tending to urge said lever into a position. so as to press said finger towards said lay to engage and hold the filling thread, and means. independent of the lay in the path of said arm for engaging the same during rearward movement of the lay so as to rock said rock shaft and raise said finger from said lay and be retracted. out of the path of the filling thread when the same is being laid by the shuttle over the. lay.

14. In a loom, the combination with the frame and the lay, of a support carried by said lay at opposite end portions thereof, a lever pivotally mounted on. said' support having a finger dis-.

posed. across the path of travel of the filling thread. said finger adapted to press said thread against the lay upon: movement of said lever in one direction and to be retracted from said lay and the path of the filling when the lever is moved in the opposite direction, bearing members on said lay, a rock shaft fulcrumed on said bearing members, said rock shaft being mechanically connected. tosaid lever for actuating the same and having an arm extending rearwardly of the lay, a spring carried by said rock shaft tending to urge said lever into a position so as to press said finger towards said lay to engage and hold the filling thread, and means independent of the lay including a cam disposed in the path of said arm for engaging the same during rearward movement of the lay so as to rock said rock shaft and raise said finger from said lay against the action of said spring and be retracted out of the path of the filling thread when the same is being laid by the shuttle over the lay.

15. In a loom, the combination with the frame and the lay, of a support carried by said lay at opposite end portions thereof, a lever pivotally mounted on said support having a finger disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread, said finger adapted to press said thread against the lay upon movement of said lever in one direction and to be retracted from said lay and the path of the filling when the lever is moved in the opposite direction, bearing members on said lay, a rock shaft fulcrumed on said bearing members, said rock shaft being mechanically connected to said lever for actuating the same and having an arm extending rearwardly of the lay, a roller on said arm, means tending to urge said lever into a position so as to press said finger towards said lay to engage and hold the filling thread, and means independent of the lay in the path of said arm for engaging said roller during rearward movement of the lay so as to rock said rock shaft and raise said finger from said lay and be retracted out of the path of the filling thread when the same is being laid by the shuttle over the lay.

16. A filling holding and tensioning mechanism for attachment to looms comprising a support adapted to be mounted on a lay, a member slidably carried by said support adapted to be reciprocated longitudinally of said lay and disposed across the line of travel of the filling thread, a lever pivotally mounted on said support and adapted to be oscillated relative to said lay, said lever having a finger adapted to be disposed across the lineof travel of the filling thread for movement towards and from said lay when said lever is oscillated, said finger adapted to engage and press the filling thread against said slidable member and be reciprocable in unison therewith to tension said thread.

17. A filling holding and tensioning mechanism for attachment to looms comprising a support adapted to be mounted on a lay, a member slidably carried by said support adapted to be reciprocated longitudinally of said lay and disposed across the line of travel of the filling thread, a lever pivotally mounted on said support and adapted to be oscillated relative to the lay, said lever having a finger adapted to be disposed across the line of travel of the filling thread for movement towards and from said lay when said lever is oscillated, said finger adapted to engage and press the filling thread against said slidable member and be reciprocable in unison therewith to tension said thread, and means for retracting finger and said slidable member to restore them to their respective initial positions when released from engagement with the filling.

18. In a loom, the combination of a lay, levers carried by said lay adapted for oscillation relatively thereto, a finger on one of said levers disposed across the path of travel of the filling thread for movement relative thereto, a spring normally tending to move said finger towards the lay, and an actuating mechanism for efiecting rocking movement of said lever so as to control the movement of said finger towards the lay so as to engage the filling thread and clampingly hold the same against the lay without slack only during the subsequent beat-up movement of the lay, said mechanism being in two parts adapted for intermittent engagement during reciprocation of the lay, one part of said mechanism being carried by the lay and including one of said levers operatively connected to another of said levers for actuating the finger, and the other part being independent of the lay and adapted to be shifted laterally across the path of one of the levers of the first part for engaging the same during rearward movement of the lay so as to retract and hold said finger against the action of said spring from the path of the filling to permit laying of the same by passage of the shuttle over the lay.

JOSEPH B. PERRY. 

